Simple Like The Truth
by Life Is A Highway66
Summary: …No, things rarely go as you wish they would.


**Simple Like The Truth **by Life Is A Highway66

Lightning sighed inwardly, exhaling misery and nervousness as he sat in Flo's V8 Café twiddling his thumbs as he waited impatiently for his six month girlfriend to arrive. It couldn't be this hard, could it? No, just tell her the truth. Looking around to all his friends, sat in small groups or two alone, smiles plastered upon all of their faces, chattering was the gentle buzz that gave the Flo's its usual harmonic feeling.

The feeling that had made him stay in the small Arizonian town. "You seemed troubled by something, are you okay?" The dark-skinned owner of the café asked, placing a re-assuring arm over his shoulder. He followed her arm, wrist placed gently upon his shoulder and hand rubbing his arm.

"Uh, yeah," he answered, looking to her with a barely believable blissful smile as he attempted to shrug her contact off.

She frowned, questioning herself whether or not to state that there was no way that she could believe an answer like that. Instead, she just shook her head gently and walked away. But then, he saw a familiar face from outside, grin upon her face and waving happily…

…_Sally_…

He put his face into his hands; maybe this _was _going to be harder than it seemed…

**I love you.  
You love me  
But you never say that to me  
I want you  
You want me  
So how come I don't believe?  
It's in the way you kiss my face  
And in your every move**

"Hey Stickers," she said cheerfully, greeting him with a small kiss upon his cheek, he looked up from his hands and managed a small smile. "Is there something wrong?"

He shook his head, but instantly regretted it as thoughts of doubts that she could be having filled his mind; he had shook his head way to soon after she had asked if he was okay and maybe a little too quick.

Sally nodded slightly, "okay…" Doubt. It was there in her voice, too evident for the likings of Lightning McQueen. He just cast his attention back to the table, she tilted her head to the right slightly, "are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Concern.

"I'm sure."

"C'mon, Stickers, I love you, you love me. There's something wrong, and I just know it."

**Won't you tell me something  
Simple Like the truth -  
Even if it isn't "I love you"?  
Won't you let me know your heart,  
And lay me down  
Is it so hard to tell me?**

"Sal," Lightning began before he could stop himself, "there's something I want to tell you." He closed his eyes gently, there was no easy way of saying this, but he knew that now he had started it – he had to finish.

She frowned, "what is it?"

Tears had begun to swell in his eyes by this time, "there's something that you should know, Sally Sal," he took her hand with his own right hand underneath hers and the left upon it. She just continued to stare into his light blue eyes, waiting for him to tell her the worst, some sort of illness? A family member had passed away? She waited anxiously for him to continue, but after a few tedious moments, she just frowned. But that had caught her boyfriends' attention. "Sally… You know about _us_…" He paused slightly, and Sally managed to smile. Was this what she thought it could be? Was this why he had been acting so strange lately? But – of course – some things just don't work out the way that you wish for them to:

"I don't think it's working out very well."

**"It's nothing,  
Don't be stupid,"  
How come you always  
Say that to me?  
"It's alright, take it easy,"   
But easy is so hard to be  
It's in the way you  
Brush me by  
The way that you make love**

Sally moved closer, her frown gone but her eyes narrowed, searching for some sign that this would be one of his sick jokes; set up by himself and Mater. Or at least some sign that she had misheard what he had just said. "Why not?" She asked, hoping that he would come back with a reply such as "what are you talking about?" although, that didn't go to plan either…

"I still want to be friends," he said reassuringly, letting his hands slide off hers, "I just… don't think it's working out very well." He looked to the table again, trying to find a way of supporting her that they could still hold a friendship between them; he looked to her face again. Tears had already begun to fall.

She stood slightly, her hands sliding nearer toward him. "Please," she pleaded, "there must be a reason… Just time to sort things out…"

He pushed her hands away. "Sally, I've been thinking it through for three weeks, maybe I just wasn't ready…" Before he could even contemplate finishing his sentence, his ex-girlfriend had began to weep and walked away with long and fast strides, the door slammed shut and all eyes had suddenly adverted their attention to him. He looked around uncomfortably, "What?" He asked, and then abruptly, no more visions were upon him.

**Won't you tell me something  
Simple Like the truth -  
Even if it isn't "I love you"?  
Won't you let me know your heart,  
And lay me down  
Is it so hard to tell me?**

The door swung open unexpectedly to the small house behind Cozy Cone motel, and it seemed not a second after that the brunette haired woman rushed into the reception hall, slamming the opening close and swung her head around in all directions, she scuttled up the stairs as swiftly as she could and entered the bedroom. Of course, for a moderately sized room, there was not much you could fit in there. A double bed against the wall and in the centre, a wardrobe left to that and then a television opposite the divan. She crouched down and slung her arms under the bed, and when they re-emerged she was gripping onto the handles of a leather suitcase.

Un-clipping it, she swung the satchel open, rummaging through the drawers' of Lightning's belongings she one-by-one threw them into the cramped space, continually crying… A continuer's stream of tears running down her cheek. But then; she had stopped. At the bottom of a drawer was a picture, it must have been taken four or five months ago, when they had first become girlfriend and boyfriend. She sat on the bed and stared for a moment, shaking her head she just threw it back into the drawer, cursing and hoping never to see it again.

A few moments later, all memories of Lightning had gone from the shelves and any other surfaces, either in the suitcase or thrown in the bin. She sighed, wiping away a few stray tears on the side of her face that was until she heard the door slowly creak open. "Sal?" A voice whispered, a head looked around the corner of the door, she looked up from her hands to see a recognisable blonde-haired man, "Sally, I'm sorry; I don't want to lose you as a friend."

She stood swiftly, "get out of here!" She screamed, pounding clenched hands against his chest, he was about to make his leave when she continued to yell at him. "Take your stuff and get out of here!" She pointed a shaking finger to the bed; the case was still there, waiting to be taken away from the lodging. Lightning opened his mouth to say something, but she had already begun to speak before a sound could be made: "I want you out of this house! Out of this town! Out of my life!" Tears. The tears had begun falling again. More than ever.

**It's not that I'm weak  
Baby I can't take it,  
It's not that I'm blind -  
I can see you fake it  
If you only knew what I'm going through -  
Then you'd find the words to whisper  
Or you'd find the strength to leave**

"Sally…" Lightning began, outstretching his arms in hope to comfort her slightly with a hug, but, things don't always work out the way that you had originally hoped them to.

"Get out of here, _now_!" Sally shrieked, picking the suitcase up with a tremendous strain and slamming it down to the ground next to his feet.

"Let me explain-"

"There is _nothing_ for you to explain! Except all those times you said that you loved me were lies!" She turned away and looked out of the window, the Arizonian desert sun reflecting her tears, wrapping her arms around her torso, she waited a moment for him to leave but the only movement he made was toward her.

"Sal-"

"_Please_," she begged, turning around, "just leave; I don't want to see you." He took note of the way that she looked to the floor sadly, and knew that it was time to stop pestering her and maybe their friendship had no end to keep hold of.

"Well, when you feel like talking to me." There was a momentary silence, he picked his case from the floor and stayed for a moment, "I'll always be around." She watched him stare at her for a moment, nodding her head to the left slightly, indicating for her ex-boyfriend to leave. He took a hint – regretfully.

**Won't you tell me something  
Simple Like the truth -  
Even if it isn't "I love you"?  
Won't you let me know your heart,  
And lay me down...  
Is it so hard to tell me?**

Seconds had slowly ticked by, seconds turned into hours; hours had gradually turned into days. Two days. Two days in which Lightning McQueen had not heard a word from Sally, to others around town maybe, to friends and costumers, but none to him. His plan to keep her as a close friend had failed miserably. "Aww… C'mon," Mater said, watching his best friend languidly stir his morning coffee with the spoon, "There's gonna be a load've other girls wan'in' tuh get with ya."

Lightning sighed. "That's not the point though, is it? I wasn't too sure about splitting up with her, keeping her as a friend would be my only way of getting back with her."

"Oh," Mater simply said, soon after a hand slid over his shoulder, he looked up and a smile instantly crept onto his face, "hey Suez." Susannah Tow gave him a small kiss upon his cheek before sitting next to him.

"Sally told me," Susannah said, looking over to Lightning's ex-girlfriend who was intently laughing with Flo before the café owner had more customers to serve, "I'm sorry, maybe you should try with someone else."

He groaned, "yeah, maybe but… Who else is there?" The couple in front of him did not seem at all convinced that he was happy to go along with this plan of finding another girl to fall in love with. The expression that they gave him said everything. He just rolled his eyes.

"Ya could a' leas' try an' sound a _lil_' up fer the idea," Mater laughed. But, for some reason, his best friend had suddenly seemed distracted by someone. He and Susannah followed the gaze of Lightning, and laughed among themselves as their sight rested upon a woman…

**I watch you. You're reading  
But baby you're so hard to read  
I love you. You love me  
But you never say that to me**

Seconds had slowly ticked by, seconds turned into hours; hours had gradually turned into days. Three days. Three days in which Sally Carrera had not said a word to Lightning, it pained her to see him in so much misery and to remember how much he had said that he wanted to be friends with her still. She just lied on the side of the bed in which _he _used to sleep, staring blankly at the ceiling, trying to focus her mind on something else for five minutes, trying to focus her mind on trying to find patterns in the ceiling. Truth be told, she had been beating herself up for the past three days, turning down the opportunity to continue a friendship with Lightning, she had to find a way of telling him that she had changed her mind for the better – or even _showing _– it would be the only way in an attempt to win him back.

She sighed, a deep, long and sorrowful sigh, not knowing what to do with herself with the new single marital status, sitting up and looking around the room, it felt so… big… so… empty and so… _cold_ without someone to hold her. But then, she heard a laugh, not just any laugh but a recognisable laugh… but, not just any recognisable laugh… _his _laugh, but, it was soon followed by a female giggle.

_Oh no_, she thought, descending the stairs with all her haste, _tell me that he's with Susannah, please, God no, not another girl_… Although, nothing really goes the way you want it too.

The female giggle belonged to a blonde-haired girl, her hair seemingly turning a light shade of red, her lack in height gave the impression that she could have been no older than sixteen but her facial expressions gave the impression that she was older than she actually was, but to make things worse, she was slipping her hand into Lightning's and actually… intertwining fingers? She squeezed her eyes shut hoping that this was another of the sick jokes organised by himself and Mater, when she looked at the two again, they had their lips joined, and a long kiss endured…

…No, things rarely go as you wish they would.

**Authors' Notes**

-yawn- I are so tired…

Something quick I decided to write, needed to get it out of my system… Inspired by a true story… Went out with a guy for a few weeks, he dumped me, tried to keep me as a friend, I said no, wished I did so I can try and get him back but as I go to apologise turns out he's already got a girlfriend THREE days after he dumped me… Yeah, love can suck…

I feel much better n.n

Here's to being at FF.N for a year! -raises glass- Also, Behind the Wheel series is a year old today n.n –is shot for being a geek- x.x

Simple Like The Truth © Darius Danesh

Lightning, Sally, Flo, Mater, and any other recognisable… things © Disney/Pixar

Susannah © Me, you touch, you die…

Reviews pleaseeee… I said I'd have it up sometime 3am, my time n.n! Worship insomnia people, adore it…


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